Al-Mayadeen says it will support the Palestinian cause and all forms of "resistance," and that it will counter the influence of the popular Al-Jazeera
and Al-Arabiya networks, both funded by oil-rich Sunni Gulf Arab countries that have backed the uprising in Lebanon's
neighbor Syria.

It
is headed by former Al-Jazeera newsman Ghassan bin Jiddo, who quit the Qatar-based station last year to protest its reporting of the uprising in Syria.

Syria considers itself part of a "resistance" axis against Israel and the West, together with its allies Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group.